New spell updated:
- Lumious: disclose what is hidden when cast on souless things. It could also force someone to tell you the truth.

***

It was perfect moment for our prince to awaken.

"I heard that." He murmured this and rose from the bed, ignoring the ache from the wound on his stomach.

Jeonghan was obviously afraid. "Don't move," he said, raising his gaze to the prince. "The doctor told you to rest."

Mingyu laughed briefly. He raised his palm and touched Jeonghan on the cheek, enjoying the beauty that could easily knock all the stars to the ground. For him, the entire universe was nothing more than the feelings blazing in his chest. He yearned for Jeonghan in a way that no words could express, and no color could paint a painting of.

Mingyu could have been killed by the clone, but death meant being far away from Jeonghan, further than their distance from breaking up, so he chose to fight for his life.

"I'm proud to say that death couldn't tear us apart." The prince smiled, came in closer until their lips were inches apart, and asked, "Can I kiss you?"

Jeonghan's cheeks and ear were flushed with rosy. His lips were firmly closed. But, before he knew it, those lips had found their way back to Mingyu.

It was natural, like river flow, to let the love surge in. There was no mystery or conundrum to solve.

Jeonghan had completely forgotten why they had parted ways. It was only the two of them in this tranquil room. While their lips were crossed, the sweetness lingered. A few fingers rested on Mingyu's chest, sensing the fast pace of the beating heart.

It took them both a few moments to discover that the touch of their lips had given them a new sensation. Anew desire that was distinctly greater and wilder.

Therefore, it took away Jeonghan's dread. Those anxieties belonged to the past, and a shattered soul, born and raised in a broken home, couldn't love anyone but himself. He wished he could have battled for this love. Even when the Queen unexpectedly appeared and told him he didn't deserve the prince, he should've responded Mingyu loved and chose him; their love was greater than the noble's pride.

The thought of losing Mingyu for eternity terrified him the most. He won't pass up this chance now that he is aware of it.

"I know that saying sorry wasn't enough for what I did." Jeonghan cried, a tear falling from the corner of his eyes.

Mingyu wiped his tear away gently, kissed his eyelid, and whispered, "You came back to me, and that's enough."

Mingyu always held a place in his heart for Jeonghan, although it took a long time for Jeonghan to take off his mask and confess his actual thoughts. All he could do was wait patiently, knowing that the love that was meant to be would always return to him. Love has remained because it never left.

-

Seungcheol left an hour ago because his family, surprisingly, planned a party in the evening. While Jeonghan stayed in the bedroom to care for Mingyu, Joshua was left alone in the living room.

He noticed the massive portrait of a lady dressed in a crimson gown. Her skin was pale, and her lips were a deep red. Joshua equated her eyes to a black pearl, and her hair was as dark as the night's gloom. A mysterious vibe swirled around the portrait, although she appeared looking young. When someone drew this, Joshua guessed she was fifteen. Considering this was Seungcheol's home, Joshua wondered if the portrait had any significance for him.

The boy then focused on the bookcases behind the sofa. These were a collection of magic novel and theory books, as well as narrative novels about a certain wizard... Joshua wondered if Seungcheol had time to read them all because he was a hardworking student at their school who never skipped a class or had low test scores. In retrospect, Joshua saw Seungcheol as a practically flawless high school boy who appeared to exist only in books.

Everyone, of course, has flaws. Seungcheol was no different. But that didn't make him any less amazing.

Joshua became bored after a while of strolling around. He seemed to forget that Seungcheol had told him to wait in the room.

The youngster stepped outside, and as he walked down the corridor, he noticed the sky was dark. The garden lights were all turned on. Some ladies wore stunning dresses, and their hair was meticulously styled. They congregated at the fountain. They walked alongside their partner and spouse into the castle.

Yes, Seungcheol's home was a castle granted to his family by the previous king many decades ago. His family has traditionally been aristocratic, and the current queen still holds them in high regard.

One of the reasons is the biological tie, but the Choi family has always been the most vociferous in court. It's also easy to see why Seungcheol and Mingyu aren't just cousins, but also close friends.

Thinking about Seungcheol's family made Joshua curious about the nobles' party, even though he knew he shouldn't. The boy had no intention of being an unwanted guest, and he knew he didn't belong there, but obviously a quick glance wouldn't do any harm.

So he walked around the house, and the servants, fortunately, paid him no attention. They all wore the same uniforms and focused on their duties. He followed a maid, and thanks to that, Joshua found the banquet hall. The boy didn't dare go inside, so he just stood and watched in the doorway.

Seungcheol's family is aristocrats of the aristocracy. Joshua knew this from the beginning of their romantic interaction, but he never knew it would look like this. Their party included waltzes and ballets, as well as performances by female opera singers. The symphonic orchestra was on the stage's left wing. A couple danced under the light of an impressive and dazzling crystal chandelier. It was wonderful, beautiful, and overwhelming, just like the fairy tales he had read as a child.

When the music stopped and a man in a face mask went onto the stage, everyone moved to the round tables arranged at a proper distance and sat down. The man in a formal suit stepped onto the podium, which was placed on the stage's left side. He looked around the dinner hall before saying,

"Greetings ladies and gentlemen. I hope everyone had enough fun to attend tonight's most anticipated event. Only at the Choi family's castle can you find this."

"Welcome to the auction!" he said grandly and eloquently.

There was a burst of applause.

Joshua's curiosity was aroused, but it quickly vanished when someone carried an iron cage to the center of the stage. Inside, a cloud of gray smoke emerged out of nowhere. When the smoke cleared, the thing (he assumed) laying unmoving was a lady. She was handcuffed and her legs were chained. She wore a thin gray dress that exposed her white arms. A black cloth covered her eyes and disappeared with a wave of the auctioneer's wand. Her face was entirely exposed, and it was stunning, with rare green eyes and chestnut brown hair.

The man retained his energetic voice to introduce the auctioned goods.

"The first auction item is a foreign-blooded person who showed magic at the age of six and lived on Emer Grand Island..."

Joshua hadn't finished listening to the introduction when he was yanked from his spot by a stranger's huge hand. It was a man with a scruffy chin and beard, dressed in a red-brown tuxedo and a blue bow tie, demonstrating his poor fashion sense. His breath smelt vaguely of liquor and marijuana-like smells. When he stared at Joshua, his eyes narrowed. And, of course, judgment.

The old man leaned very close to the boy's face, his voice gruff.

"Who are you? You are not dressed in a servant's uniform. You also don't have any noble luxury stuff on you."

Joshua gasped with terror because the man in front of him was neither nice or welcoming. Furthermore, these nobles are selling persons of foreign blood at auction. That was enough for Joshua to realize that his kind was despised in this place.

As a result, he gave the old man only half the truth.

"I am Seungcheol's guest."

"Really?" The old guy regarded him with suspicion. "Which family are you from?"

"I am under no obligation to answer your questions about my identity. Take me to Seungcheol, and he'll testify."

"If your family had power and reputation, you wouldn't hesitate to answer, right kid?"

Joshua pulled his hand away from the elderly man's hold. Before he could react, the old man cast Silendio on him. Too upset with his own stupidity, the youngster had no choice but to flee.

He ran as fast as he could, despite the fact that the old man chased him from behind. The incident caused chaos in the castle's hallways. However, the servants that passed by Joshua all turned a blind eye and ignored his pleas for helping hands.

"Magniortus!" As the old man directed his wand at Joshua and cast an excellent spell, the boy was unable to flee.

Joshua collapsed, his legs powerless. He lost all feeling in his lower limbs, as if he were paralyzed. His legs felt as light as air, as if they weren't even there.

Joshua was face down on the cold stone floor. His arms gradually became numb, with blood vessels going to freeze and useless tendons seeming to be severed. As the old man approached and placed the tip of his wand on his temple, the feeling of despair grew stronger.

The noble man lowered his face and smirked, whispered in his ear, "Luminous."

For a brief period, Joshua's heart seemed to cease beating. Then he opened his eyes wide and gasped for air, his mouth agape. He no longer intended to control his breathing, preferring to let air flow into his lungs. And, in the end, it compelled him to respond to the old man's query.

"Who are you?"

It didn't take more than two seconds for the boy to respond:

"Joshua Hong."

"Where do you come from?"

"South Korea."

"I've caught you, you rat," the old man said, his eyes widening. "Those with foreign blood like you will become our slaves."

He grabbed the boy's top tuft of hair and yanked it, forcing his face up. The noble's mouth hissed as he sniffed Joshua's hair. Then he continued to lean in close to the unfortunate boy, gloating, "You seem clever, and you smell nice. I'll bring you home and thoroughly educate you. I'll lavish you with perks while punishing you when you're ungrateful. You'll be my slave without paying a dime. You muddy blood."

Just as he was about to open the teleportation gate, Joshua heard someone's voice echoing from afar and shouted:

"Maxima Pestium!"

The old man quickly collapsed to the side and convulsed several times before losing consciousness.

Joshua's eyes widened in shock. He then noticed Seungcheol come to a halt and stoop down, dispelling the two spells he was under.

The boy's legs and arms regained their weight. The effect, like a slowly dwindling life force, suddenly rushed back, like flooding. He rose off the frigid surface.While Seungcheol tried to ask questions, Joshua moved backward in fear, pushing him away. He glanced at him with bloodshot eyes, and his panic changed to rage.

"Get away from me! Don't even think of touching me!"

Seungcheol looked at him with confused eyes. He made little effort to approach, but he couldn't help but explain:

"I wasn't trying to hurt you. I'll never do it."

He assumed that the boy was struggling with the aftermath of the previous incident. But the truth was:

"Your family auctions off people with foreign blood. They turned humans into slaves. Am I your slave?"

Seungcheol's eyes welled up with the horrible truth. The most heartbreaking part was that the man showed no surprise.

At the same time, it made Joshua realize:

"You're aware of the auction. That's why you want me to wait in your room like an idiot. I'm waiting for you, like an idiot!" He screamed.

Seungcheol panicked and shifted closer, covering the boy's mouth with his hand.

"Don't draw any more attention here. We need to get out of here first. I'll explain."

Joshua remained silent and did as Seungcheol told. Even so, the youngster was still shouting and blaming himself on the inside. He shivered at the notion of disgust for those who were in the banquet room and got frustrated because he didn't know if he could trust Seungcheol.

He slid back into the vicious circle of broken trust. And it didn't get any better; in fact, it became worse.

-

Seungcheol spoke first after teleporting them both to the lake behind the school, which was a familiar location.

"Listen. I knew about the aution, but I was never a part of it."

That didn't lessen the disgust that flooded through inside Joshua. It was for his family and everyone else involved.

Seungcheol may not be one of them, but was this ideology deeply embedded in the man?

Joshua's panic and rage did not go away immediately. He forced all the words down his throat because he knew he could spit out his most venomous thoughts against Seungcheol.

But Joshua has no hatred toward Seungcheol. He didn't think he could do it. He was simply concealing his suffering in order not look fragile. And he was enraged, but he couldn't let it show on this man.

It was the proper thing to do, yet it didn't satisfy him.

"Is this what happens in your high-class world?"

"Shua, please."

"Your friends must be having a good time talking about my species. How many times per day do they make fun of foreign blood?"

"Don't..."

"This is why you're happy with keeping our relationship under wraps, right?"

"That wasn't the case! You already know!"

"How am I supposed to understand you then? When you're living in a different world where is cruel and inhuman."

"I'M NO DIFFERENT FROM YOU." He spoke in a loud voice.

"BUT YOU ARE, admit it." Joshua refused to back down. "We were different from the moment we were born. It's in our blood, and we'll never be able to change it."

This evening, reality had hit them hard, especially Joshua.

Who said love was an indestructible fortress? They never did. They just believed it silently.

Joshua had never considered that it could be blind faith.

One night, the fortress they built for this relationship was attacked. The defensive wall eventually collapsed when a few bricks broke and fell. As a result, their love was exposed and raw, wounded and brittle.

"I love you, and I've never felt shameful about your blood. I don't care who you are; it makes no difference to me." Seungcheol tried to persuade the boy.

"Does it?" Joshua gave a wry grin. "Why did you approach me first? Was it really because you felt I was charming, beautiful, intelligent, and talented?" Then he avoided his gaze and continued, "I didn't believe it in the first place, though."

Seungcheol grimaced, clearly hurt by Joshua's harsh words.

"Is this some kind of joke?"

"No. Because I'm requesting it. Why did you approach me?"

"And I answered plenty of times."

"No. I know you lied. So just tell me the truth." Joshua emphasized each syllable carefully: "Why-did-you-approach-me?"

He left Seungcheol speechless. The man took a breather and pursed his lips.

Seungcheol was terrified of saying something that could destroy the relationship.

But Joshua was tenacious. Even if he couldn't say it today, he'd still lose the boy in the end because he couldn't be honest.

It took some time, and Joshua waited for Seungcheol to open his mouth and admit:

"It was supposed to be a one-night fling. I've never broken any family rules. So, when I knew you had foreign blood, I wanted to keep our relationship a little longer."

"For what?"

"I thought it was fun playing around since you were so naive about this world, as most of the foreigners are. The laws protecting foreign blood in Carat Land are useless against nobles like my family. So, even if I did something bad, you could never harm me."

Joshua grinded his teeth, and his fist was tighter after hearing Seungcheol.

"Tell me, what's the worst thing that you can put on me?"

"Shua, please." Seungcheol begged. "I can't do this anymore."

"NO!" Joshua stepped back as Seungcheol tried to reach his arm. "TELL ME. RIGHT NOW. SHOW ME WHO YOU TRULY ARE!"

"Magic, that I've learned, they are different. They aren't there to only protect wizards; they are there to have fun and also to hurt people. That's what I've been taught. In my world, people use it to benefit themselves, and some can easily get away with everything. And yes, I'm one of them. I'm born with it, which I can't change. But you, Shua, you've changed me."

Joshua shook his head, holding his shaking arms to keep himself from falling down.

Suddenly, the air was cold and brutal.

"Have you ever thought of selling me?"

"No! I could never do that!" Seungcheol quickly disputed it.

But Joshua was lost in thought and couldn't tolerate standing here any longer. It was difficult to look Seungcheol in the eyes, and he didn't realize this was the man he had loved. He couldn't recall their gazes meeting at such a wonderful time as before. The voice that came from those lips sounded like the voice of a stranger standing on the other side of the road.

"Don't follow me." As he went away, the youngster stated a request for Seungcheol to remain still.

Because any effort he put forth at this moment would be futile. Other than the worst and cruelest, Joshua had no words for the man.

-

Being alone was not a new experience for Seungcheol. He was used to doing it. He was lonely the entire journey before Joshua arrived. There was nothing he could do to change his terrible intentions or who he used to be. He kept it hidden for so long that he ran out of time, and therefore the truth was disclosed in the most annoying situation.

He wanted to murder the old man. Oh, how he hoped he could.

Seungcheol felt a scorching heat on his skin. It came from the rune mark on his left shoulder.

Although he hoped for the death of that old man, the intent had to be postponed.

Choi Jonghyun, his father and master, was summoning him.

Seungcheol made his way across the passage to a massive wooden door with a silver lining. He took his time before entering.

He couldn't remember how long he stood outside the castle or how long he waited on the shore of that lake. He had no idea why he insisted on looking at the water surface with moon reflections on it. Time passed without notice, leaving only the rune on his left shoulder smoldering as if it were dragging him to hell.

Seungcheol could envision how his father would react when he found out what had happened. Given that he had endured it for a long time, since he was a child.

He used to believe that having scars was something to be proud of. Unfortunately, his father never stated that he was proud of Seungcheol.

The clock on their wall began to tick. The lion head on the opposite wall seemed to be laughing at Seungcheol. In anguish, the rune continued to burn him.

Seungcheol took a deep breath and then pushed open the door.

"Good evening, father." He said it politely.

The grand duke stood next to the fireplace and turned to face his son. Cigarette half-burned between his fingers. White smoke escaped from his lips and lingered in the air.

"Where's the foreign blood that you brought into our house?"

"He's gone." Seungcheol responded carefully.

Choi Jonghyun lifted his eyebrow. Of course, he would never put his trust in these phrases. He was aware that his precious son was hiding many secrets, but bringing foreign blood to such a significant occasion and then causing a fuss with a noble man was unacceptable.

"You harmed my guest, son. That is impolite."

"He harmed my friend."

"Oh, so that boy is your friend. How lovely! My guest would love to have him in the auction."

Seungcheol clenched his teeth as he faced the most terrifying prospect he had ever imagined.

"Father. You can have anyone but my friend. That is the only request I have."

Choi Jonghyun made a hissing sound. He yelled as he quickly drew out his wand.

"VEXIOR!"

The father cast the spell of excruciating pain on his son without hesitation, and Seungcheol screamed as he dropped to the stone-cold floor.

Before his eyes, flickering firelights abounded. Everything blurred, except the pain searing through every muscle. The whole body trembled, as if sliced with a knife.